Jacob Holdt receives the Bent Melchior Award 2025

Yesterday, hundreds of people experienced the magic of Greenlandic mask dancing for the first time at the Bent Melchior Prize 2025. It was not a moment too soon, because these days we talk a lot about the Danish Realm. It is what binds Greenlanders, Danes, and Faroese together. It is always easy to see what separates us: culture, traditions, language, nature.

But we don't need to look only to the Danish Realm. In our own little pond, we also divide each other into "them" and "us." But "Danes come in many models," as a popular folk high school song says, which is about the wide variety of the Danish population and expresses that Danes have many different backgrounds, identities, and appearances.

This was the starting point for this year's Bent Melchior Award, which focused on art and culture. And it was the starting point for the selection of this year's passionate soul.

The award goes to…

The winner of the Bent Melchior Prize 2025 is photographer Jacob Holdt.

The award honors a passionate individual who, with perseverance and patience, makes an effort to step out onto the bridge and meet the other person – with openness, curiosity, and a critical stance.
This year's award winner is Jacob Holdt, the man behind American Pictures and a passionate soul who, more than anyone else, has dedicated his life to building bridges across cultures.

As former Bent Melchior Prize winner (2024) Sarah Smed said in her motivational speech:

“This year’s award winner is a person who, throughout a long life and with what appears to be an impressively calm pulse, a compassionate presence, exemplary drive, and tireless storytelling, has reminded us all that encounters between people based on trust and openness can bring about change. That conversations should not be a battle of opinions with winners and losers, but should be seen as a movement rich in words and images – a kind of ‘contact sport’ of attitudes that touches but does not hurt.”

You can read Sarah Smed's entire motivational speech here.

An honored award recipient

“What can I say about building bridges between people who would rather hide in their bubbles? So, inspired by Jens Galschiøt’s beautiful water droplet, let me try the opposite of bubbles. From my work with the Ku Klux Klan, I can tell you how small drops can turn into waves that infect others – both in the US and here at home.”

This is how Jacob Holdt began his acceptance speech, and as you can see in the photo below, there was no doubt that we were dealing with a delighted recipient of this year's Bent Melchior Award.
However, his speech, which you can read here, also offered what I think is a welcome reminder:

That is really what I want to say tonight:

That bridge-building is not just about talking to each other – but about liberating each other. And that this can sometimes be contagious and liberating from country to country.  
As we always said in my workshops between black and white people at US universities,

'If a pattern of suffering attacks you – and only a pattern of suffering would do that– help is always at hand. 
Namely, from the person who is trapped in the pattern of suffering and waiting to be freed."

Behind every shout, every accusation, every wall of hatred, there is almost always an old pain begging to be heard.

Special thanks to:

• Aveny-T for hosting the event.
• Frellsen for the cream puffs and coffee bags for our guests.
• Our anonymous donors, who once again this year have been a great support to our work in planning and executing the awards ceremony.
• The artists and panelists for enriching us all with important stories and reminding us of the importance of building bridges in culture.
• Photographer Erling Brodersen for taking the beautiful pictures.

Bent Melchior always said: "If you feel that something needs to be done, don't say, 'Someone else will have to do it. ' You have to do it yourself! You have to make a difference." We couldn't have made that difference without your support. So thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

If you want to get a little closer to who Bent really was as a person, you should read his daughter-in-law Karen Melchior's beautiful speech!
You can read my own welcome speech for the event right here.

Impressions from the evening

If you (or your family or friends) are not yet a member of Brobyggere, you can become one for a minimum of DKK 100 per yea – but you are also welcome to give more. You can also support Brobyggere's work with a donation of any amount. Donations of at least DKK 200 are tax deductible.

Best regards 

Özlem Cekic
The Bridge Builders – Center for Dialogue Coffee